First, I prepare an overhead for use as a Jeopardy board, with the questions covered by sticky notes. Teams are placed in rows, and all students except those in the front of each team are given small scraps of paper.
The second person in each team is responsible for choosing a question by category and point value. When the question (usually a very short clue in the target language) is revealed, all participants (who are allowed to use their notes) write their answers on the slip of paper and pass them forward. The front person sorts among the answers, chooses the correct one, and runs to place the answer in a cup which has been placed on the floor.
The first team with the correct answer in the cup wins the round.
There are a few rules you need to enforce to make this game worthwhile and effective:
1.The front person must not leave her desk until
she has received three legitimate answers.
These answers must be left on the desk for
verification, or the team is not awarded points.
2.Pull out answers in the order in which they were
placed, until you find a winner. Teach, or ask the class,
what is wrong with each incorrect answer.
3.Upon announcement of a winner, the front people
immediately throw away the answers on their desks
and in their cups (I put little boxes up by
the cups for trash), and the front-row winner writes the points on the
board.
4.Simultaneously, the second person on the winning
team chooses the next question. This is important
for keeping the game moving quickly, and reducing
the competitive trash talk that can interfere with the point
of the game.
Every member of the class can contribute to
the team, because the fastest team doesn’t always get the right
answer. The slow student who consults his materials may be the only
one on the team with the correct answer.